The General vs. the President: MacArthur and Truman at the Brink of Nuclear War

From master storyteller and historian H. W. Brands, twice a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, comes the riveting story of how President Harry Truman and General Douglas MacArthur squared off to decide America's future in the aftermath of World War II.

Reagan: The Life

Ronald Reagan today is a conservative icon, celebrated for transforming the American domestic agenda and playing a crucial part in ending communism in the Soviet Union. In his masterful new biography, H. W. Brands argues that Reagan, along with FDR, was the most consequential president of the 20th century. Reagan took office at a time when the public sector, after a half century of New Deal liberalism, was widely perceived as bloated and inefficient, an impediment to personal liberty.

Destiny and Power: The American Odyssey of George Herbert Walker Bush

Based on rigorous research, hours of private interviews, and extraordinary access to Bush's diaries and to his family, Destiny and Power paints a vivid and affecting portrait of the distinctive American life of a man from the Greatest Generation: his childhood in Connecticut, his heroic service in World War II, his entry into the Texas oil business, and his storied rise in politics from congressman to UN ambassador to head of the CIA to 41st president of the United States.

Herbert Hoover: A Life

Prize-winning historian Glen Jeansonne delves into the life of our most misunderstood president, offering up a surprising new portrait of Herbert Hoover - dismissing previous assumptions and revealing a political Progressive in the mold of Theodore Roosevelt and the most resourceful American since Benjamin Franklin.

Redeemer: The Life of Jimmy Carter

Evangelical Christianity and conservative politics are today seen as inseparable. But when Jimmy Carter, a Democrat and a born-again Christian, won the presidency in 1976, he owed his victory in part to American evangelicals, who responded to his open religiosity and his rejection of the moral bankruptcy of the Nixon Administration. Carter, running as a representative of the New South, articulated a progressive strand of American Christianity that championed liberal ideals, racial equality, and social justice - one that has almost been forgotten since.

No Ordinary Time: Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt: The Home Front in World War II

No Ordinary Time describes how the isolationist and divided United States of 1940 was unified under the extraordinary leadership of Franklin Roosevelt to become the preeminent economic and military power in the world.

In an extraordinary series of private interviews, conducted over 16 years with the stipulation that they not be released until after Gerald Ford's death, the 38th president of the United States reveals a profoundly different side of himself: funny, reflective, gossipy, strikingly candid, and the stuff of headlines.

Eisenhower in War and Peace

Author of the best-seller FDR, Jean Edward Smith is a master of the presidential biography. Setting his sights on Dwight D. Eisenhower, Smith delivers a rich account of Eisenhower’s life using previously untapped primary sources. From the military service in WWII that launched his career to the shrewd political decisions that kept America out of wars with the Soviet Union and China, Smith reveals a man who never faltered in his dedication to serving America, whether in times of war or peace.

Bush

In Bush, Jean Edward Smith demonstrates that it was not Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, or Condoleezza Rice, but President Bush himself who took personal control of foreign policy. Bush drew on his deep religious conviction that important foreign-policy decisions were simply a matter of good versus evil. Domestically, he overreacted to 9/11 and endangered Americans' civil liberties.

Being Nixon: The Fears and Hopes of an American President

What was it really like to be Richard Nixon? Evan Thomas tackles this fascinating question by peeling back the layers of a man driven by a poignant mix of optimism and fear. The result is both insightful history and an astonishingly compelling psychological portrait of an anxious introvert who struggled to be a transformative statesman.

His Final Battle: The Last Months of Franklin Roosevelt

"By far the most enigmatic leading figure" of World War II. That's how the British military historian John Keegan described Franklin D. Roosevelt, who frequently left his contemporaries guessing, never more so than at the end of his life. Here, in a hugely insightful account, a prizewinning author and journalist untangles the narrative threads of Roosevelt's final months, showing how he juggled the strategic, political, and personal choices he faced as the war, his presidency, and his life raced in tandem to their climax.

The Triumph and Tragedy of Lyndon Johnson: The White House Years

President Lyndon Johnson was bigger than life - and no one who worked for him or was subjected to the "Johnson treatment" ever forgot it. As Johnson's "Deputy President of Domestic Affairs", Joseph A. Califano's unique relationship with the president greatly enriches our understanding of our 36th president. Califano shows listeners LBJ's commitment to economic and social revolution, and his willingness to do whatever it took to achieve his goals.

Truman

Hailed by critics as an American masterpiece, David McCullough's sweeping biography of Harry S. Truman captured the heart of the nation. The life and times of the 33rd president of the United States, Truman provides a deeply moving look at an extraordinary, singular American.

In Such Good Company: Eleven Years of Laughter, Mayhem, and Fun in the Sandbox

Who but Carol Burnett herself has the timing, talent, and wit to pull back the curtain on the Emmy Award-winning show that made television history for 11 glorious seasons? In Such Good Company delves into little-known stories of the guests, sketches, and antics that made the show legendary as well as some favorite tales too good not to relive again. Carol lays it all out for us, from the show's original conception to its evolution into one of the most beloved primetime programs of its generation.

Andy and Don: The Making of a Friendship and a Classic American TV Show

Andy Griffith and Don Knotts met on Broadway in the 1950s. When Andy went to Hollywood to film a TV pilot about a small-town sheriff, Don called to ask if the sheriff could use a deputy. The comedic synergy between Sheriff Andy Taylor and Deputy Barney Fife ignited The Andy Griffith Show, elevating a folksy sitcom into a timeless study of human friendship, as potent off the screen as on.

Trump Revealed: An American Journey of Ambition, Ego, Money, and Power

Trump Revealed offers the most thorough and wide-ranging examination of Donald Trump's public and private lives to date, from his upbringing in Queens and formative years at the New York Military Academy to his turbulent careers in real estate and entertainment to his astonishing rise as the front runner for the Republican presidential nomination. The book will be based on the investigative reporting of more than two dozen Washington Post reporters and researchers.

My Life, Volume II

President Bill Clinton's My Life is the strikingly candid portrait of a global leader who decided early in life to devote his intellectual and political gifts, and his extraordinary capacity for hard work, to serving the public. It is the fullest, most concretely detailed, most nuanced account of a presidency ever written, and a testament to the positive impact on America and on the world of his work and his ideals.

The End of the Cold War 1985-1991

Drawing on new archival research, Robert Service's gripping new investigation of the final years of the Cold War - the first to give equal attention to the internal deliberations from both sides of the Iron Curtain - opens a window onto the dramatic years that would irrevocably alter the world's geopolitical landscape and the men at their fore.

Mike From Mesa says:"Behind the scenes look at a pivotal period of time"

Lyndon Johnson and the American Dream: The Most Revealing Portrait of a President and Presidential Power Ever Written

Doris Kearns Goodwin's classic life of Lyndon Johnson, who presided over the Great Society, the Vietnam War, and other defining moments in the tumultuous 1960s, is a monument in political biography. From the moment the author, then a young woman from Harvard, first encountered President Johnson at a White House dance in the spring of 1967, she became fascinated by the man - his character, his enormous energy and drive, and his manner of wielding these gifts in an endless pursuit of power.

Dark Money: The Hidden History of the Billionaires Behind the Rise of the Radical Right

Why is America living in an age of profound economic inequality? Why, despite the desperate need to address climate change, have even modest environmental efforts been defeated again and again? Why have protections for employees been decimated? Why do hedge-fund billionaires pay a far lower tax rate than middle-class workers? The conventional answer is that a popular uprising against "big government" led to the rise of a broad-based conservative movement.

The Kennedy Half Century: The Presidency, Assassination, and Lasting Legacy of John F. Kennedy

John F. Kennedy died half a century ago - yet because of his extraordinary promise and untimely death, his star still resonates strongly. On the anniversary of his assassination, celebrated political scientist and analyst Larry J. Sabato - himself a teenager in the early 1960s and inspired by JFK and his presidency - explores the fascinating and powerful influence he has had over five decades on the media, the general public, and especially on each of his nine presidential successors.

Secret Service agent Clint Hill brings history intimately and vividly to life as he reflects on his 17 years protecting the most powerful office in the nation. Hill walked alongside Presidents Dwight D. Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson, Richard M. Nixon, and Gerald R. Ford, seeing them through a long, tumultuous era - the Cold War; the Cuban Missile Crisis; the assassinations of John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Robert F. Kennedy; the Vietnam War; Watergate; and the resignations of Spiro Agnew and Richard M. Nixon.

The Last of the President's Men

Bob Woodward exposes one of the final pieces of the Richard Nixon puzzle in his new book, The Last of the President's Men. Woodward reveals the untold story of Alexander Butterfield, the Nixon aide who disclosed the secret White House taping system that changed history and led to Nixon's resignation.

Publisher's Summary

Here is the edited, annotated diary of President Jimmy Carter - filled with insights into his presidency, his relationships with friends and foes, and his lasting impact on issues that still preoccupy America and the world.

Each day during his presidency, Jimmy Carter made several entries in a private diary, recording his thoughts, impressions, delights, and frustrations. He offered unvarnished assessments of cabinet members, congressmen, and foreign leaders; he narrated the progress of secret negotiations, such as those that led to the Camp David Accords. When his four-year term came to an end in early 1981, the diary amounted to more than 5,000 pages. But this extraordinary document has never been made public - until now. By carefully selecting the most illuminating and relevant entries, Carter has provided us with an astonishingly intimate view of his presidency. Day by day, we see his forceful advocacy for nuclear containment, sustainable energy, human rights, and peace in the Middle East. We witness his interactions with such complex personalities as Ted Kennedy, Henry Kissinger, Joe Biden, Anwar Sadat, and Menachem Begin. We get the inside story of his so-called “malaise speech”, his bruising battle for the 1980 Democratic nomination, and the Iranian hostage crisis. Remarkably, we also get Carter’s retrospective comments on these topics and more: 30 years after the fact, he has annotated the diary with his candid reflections on the people and events that shaped his presidency, and on the many lessons learned. Carter is now widely seen as one of the truly wise men of our time. Offering an unprecedented look at both the man and his tenure, this fascinating book will stand as a unique contribution to the history of the American presidency.

The diaries are remarkable in the way they reveal the nature of the Presidency. Histories reveal the issues that we look back on in retrospect as important. Memoirs are filled with justifications. This diary gives a sense of what was important to President Carter on a daily basis. This is a remarkable view of the Presidency.

Moreover, Jimmy Carter is a weirdly honest person. Whatever you might think of his politics, his unwillingness to doctor the diaries allows for a fair assessment of his time in office.

This was a remarkable time in American history that we seem to forget. The Camp David Accords brought a measure of peace between Israel and her neighbors even as Lebanon slid into civil war and the Iranian Revolution brought Islamic radicals to power for the first time. In his tenure in office, Carter pressed negotiated a new Panama Canal treaty that transformed the American relationship with Latin America. When he entered office, most of the leaders there were military dictators; when he left almost all of the nations were holding
elections.

There are quirky elements to the book as well. When the somewhat puritanical Carter meets women, he will freely say, "she was very attractive." Scoop Jackson is regularly irritating him.
Carter teaches Sunday school each week to about 250 people. He is a hardcore evangelical, pressuring Deng Xiao Ping to allow for the free distribution of Bibles.

This is a remarkable man by any standards: successful farmer, business person, nuclear engineer, Navy Admiral, State Senator, Governor, President, founder of two major international non-profits, mediator, religious leader, professor, and author of 26 books.

The book is kept lively by switching between a reader and updates on the issues in the Diary from Carter. If you love Carter as I do, then this is an easy five stars. If you don't like his politics, it is a four star. If you hate him, and you aren't tight on cash, this is a useful corrective worth hearing.

Essentially, this is an annotated edition of President Jimmy Carter’s diary which he kept while in Washington. He has very brief comments related to each portion which refer to specific circumstances, explain circumstances, or comment on current, present outcomes. I am not a particular fan of Jimmy Carter, but I did find the book interesting though not exciting. It allows a glimpse into the President’s daily life and routine and reads in a routine sort of way. It is revealing in a few places, but there are not real surprises if you are familiar with the territory. If you are a fan of Carter you will be rewarded. If you are not a fan, you will find the diary self serving. However, diaries and memoirs are written to support one’s own point of view. If readers will simply suspend judgment and let Carter explain himself, they will be rewarded. For me, a far more exciting and rewarding glimpse into how a president’s life in office is revealed in “Reading for Glory” the White House tapes of Lyndon Johnson. These are also annotated and edited, but it is LBJ unguarded. This record is also available from Audible and a wonderful listen. The annotations are read by the President and the diary portions are aptly interpreted by Boyd Gaines.

Interesting behind the scenes details of his presidency. But if you are looking for juicy gossip-this is not the book for you. As for the overall book-very very dry and boring. Talks about pain from hemorrhoids, routine daily life, meetings, etc. The narrative is factual and reads just like someone is reading from a short diary entry.

What Jimmy and Rosalyn Carter have done with their lives have shaped me tremendously. I only hope as an educator in Tennessee that I can have a fraction of their combined influence. God bless him and his family.

At first I didn't like how it jumps between the narrator and Carter himself, but soon I found that Carter's voice really helps. He adds insight and comment 30 years after his diary entries. With all he achieved in life, his poor PR during the presidency is sometimes hard to understand.

Would you try another book from Jimmy Carter and/or Jimmy Carter and Boyd Gaines ?

Most likely not.

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

The most interesting part of the story is that Carter seems bitter about his loses in his different elections. He seems to to present that he thinks his administration did nothing wrong and it was all the other presidents (before and after) made all the mistakes. Very classless the way he projects that.

What about Jimmy Carter and Boyd Gaines ’s performance did you like?

Straight from the horse's mouth

Do you think White House Diary needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

This book Sucked. This is the worst Book I have ever started to listen to. I could not finish it and would not recommend it to anyone. I tried to hang in there and hoped it would get better but it never did.